Christopher Graham

Christopher Graham
Born	Christopher Sidney Matthew Graham 21 September 1950
Residence	British
Nationality	England
Employer	Parliament of the United Kingdom

Christopher Sidney Matthew Graham (born 21 September 1950) took over the role of UK Information Commissioner from Richard Thomas on 29 June 2009 and concluded his tenure on 28 June 2016. Prior to this appointment, Graham was Director General of the United Kingdom's Advertising Standards Authority.^[1][2]

Christopher Graham's father, David Maurice Graham (1911–99), served as a broadcaster with the BBC External Services from 1939 to 1971. He reported on the liberation of the Nazi death camps and Indian independence, and subsequently specialised in covering Eastern Europe. As an undergraduate, he had played a leading role in The King and Country debate of 1933 at the Oxford Union.^[3] David Graham's father, Sir Lancelot Graham (1880-1958), was the first Governor of Sind in British India (now Pakistan).

Christopher Graham was a boy chorister at Canterbury Cathedral,. He was subsequently educated at St Edward's School, Oxford, and at Liverpool University, where he earned a B.A. degree in history and served during 1971-72 as President of the Guild of Undergraduates. He was a Liverpool City Councillor during 1971-74, one of the youngest people ever elected to a local council in the U.K. He was elected as a Liberal and served as the councillor for St. Michael's ward. Prior to his appointment as Director General of the ASA in 2000, Graham had worked for the BBC since the mid-1970s, including serving as Secretary to the Board of Governors. In the General Elections of 1983 and 1987 he stood unsuccessfully as the Liberal-SDP Alliance candidate for the North Wiltshire parliamentary constituency.^[4]

Graham married Mary Crockett, a journalist with The Scotsman, in April 2010.

Notes

1. "Written Ministerial Statement - Appointment of Information Commissioner". The official site of the Prime Minister’s Office. 2009-05-08. Retrieved 2009-05-19. Her Majesty The Queen has approved the appointment of Mr Christopher Graham as the next Information Commissioner with effect from 29 June 2009 for a period of 5 years.
2. McNally, Paul (2009-01-13). "Christopher Graham is new Information Commissioner". Press Gazette. Retrieved 2009-01-13. The Ministry of Justice has selected Advertising Standards Authority director general Christopher Graham to replace Richard Thomas as Information Commissioner.
3. Miall, Leonard. "Obituary: David Graham". The Independent, 18 August 1999; accessed on 25 July 2011 at: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-david-graham-1113412.html
4. "The Roll of St. Edward's School, 1863-1992." 1993.